The present invention relates generally to the treatment of spinal diseases and injuries, and more specifically to the restoration of the spinal disc following surgical treatment. The invention contemplates devices and methods for restoring the normal intervertebral disc space height and for facilitating the introduction of biomaterials for use in the repair and restoration of the intervertebral disc.
The intervertebral disc is divided into two distinct regions: the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus. The nucleus lies at the center of the disc and is surrounded and contained by the annulus. The annulus contains collagen fibers that form concentric lamellae that surround the nucleus and insert into the endplates of the adjacent vertebral bodies to form a reinforced structure. Cartilaginous endplates are located at the interface between the disc and the adjacent vertebral bodies.
The intervertebral disc is the largest avascular structure in the body. The disc receives nutrients and expels waste by diffusion through the adjacent vascularized endplates. The hygroscopic nature of the proteoglycan matrix of the nucleus operates to generate high intra-nuclear pressure. As the water content in the disc increases, the intra-nuclear pressure increases and the nucleus swells to increase the height of the disc. This swelling places the fibers of the annulus in tension. A normal disc has a height of about 10–15 mm.
There are many causes of disruption or degeneration of the intervertebral disc that can be generally categorized as mechanical, genetic and biochemical. Mechanical damage includes herniation in which a portion of the nucleus pulposus projects through a fissure or tear in the annulus fibrosus. Genetic and biochemical causes can result in changes in the extracellular matrix pattern of the disc and a decrease in biosynthesis of extracellular matrix components by the cells of the disc. Degeneration is a progressive process that usually begins with a decrease in the ability of the extracellular matrix in the central nucleus pulposus to bind water due to reduced proteoglycan content. With a loss of water content, the nucleus becomes desiccated resulting in a decrease in internal disc hydraulic pressure, and ultimately to a loss of disc height. This loss of disc height can cause the annulus to buckle with non-tensile loading and the annular lamellae to delaminate, resulting in annular fissures. Herniation may then occur as rupture leads to protrusion of the nucleus.
Proper disc height is necessary to ensure proper functionality of the intervertebral disc and spinal column. The disc serves several functions, although its primary function is to facilitate mobility of the spine. In addition, the disc provides for load bearing, load transfer and shock absorption between vertebral levels. The weight of the person generates a compressive load on the discs, but this load is not uniform during typical bending movements. During forward flexion, the posterior annular fibers are stretched while the anterior fibers are compressed. In addition, a translocation of the nucleus occurs as the center of gravity of the nucleus shifts away from the center and towards the extended side.
Changes in disc height can have both local and global effects. On the local (or cellular, level) decreased disc height results in increased pressure in the nucleus, which can lead to a decrease in cell matrix synthesis and an increase in cell necrosis and apoptosis. In addition, increases in intra-discal pressure create an unfavorable environment for fluid transfer into the disc, which can cause a further decrease in disc height.
Decreased disc height also results in significant changes in the global mechanical stability of the spine. With decreasing height of the disc, the facet joints bear increasing loads and may undergo hypertrophy and degeneration, and may even act as a source of pain over time. Decreased stiffness of the spinal column and increased range of motion resulting from loss of disc height can lead to further instability of the spine, as well as back pain. The outer annulus fibrosus is designed to provide stability under tensile loading, and a well-hydrated nucleus maintains sufficient disc height to keep the annulus fibers properly tensioned. With decreases in disc height, the annular fibers are no longer able to provide the same degree of stability, resulting in abnormal joint motion. This excessive motion can manifest itself in abnormal muscle, ligament and tendon loading, which can ultimately be a source of back pain.
Radicular pain may result from a decrease in foraminal volume caused by decreased disc height. Specifically, as disc height decreases, the volume of the foraminal canal, through which the spinal nerve roots pass, decreases. This decrease may lead to spinal nerve impingement, with associated radiating pain and dysfunction
Finally, adjacent segment loading increases as the disc height decreases at a given level. The discs that must bear additional loading are now susceptible to accelerated degeneration and compromise, which may eventually propagate along the destabilized spinal column.
In spite of all of these detriments that accompany decreases in disc height, where the change in disc height is gradual many of the ill effects may be “tolerable” to the spine and may allow time for the spinal system to adapt to the gradual changes. However, the sudden decrease in disc volume caused by the surgical removal of the disc or disc nucleus may heighten the local and global problems noted above. Many disc defects are treated through a surgical procedure, such as a discectomy in which the nucleus pulposus material is removed. During a total discectomy, a substantial amount (and usually all) of the volume of the nucleus pulposus is removed and immediate loss of disc height and volume can result. Even with a partial discectomy, loss of disc height can ensue. Discectomy alone is the most common spinal surgical treatment, frequently used to treat radicular pain resulting from nerve impingement by disc bulge or disc fragments contacting the spinal neural structures.
In another common spinal procedure, the discectomy may be followed by an implant procedure in which a prosthesis is introduced into the cavity left in the disc space when the nucleus material is removed. Thus far, the most prominent prosthesis is a mechanical device or a “cage” that is sized to restore the proper disc height and is configured for fixation between adjacent vertebrae. These mechanical solutions take on a variety of forms, including solid kidney-shaped implants, hollow blocks filled with bone growth material, push-in implants and threaded cylindrical cages.
In more recent years, injectable biomaterials have been more widely considered as an augment to a discectomy. As early as 1962, Alf Nachemson suggested the injection of room temperature vulcanizing silicone into a degenerated disc using an ordinary syringe. In 1974, Lemaire and others reported on the clinical experience of Schulman with an in situ polymerizable disc prosthesis. Since then, many injectable biomaterials or scaffolds have been developed as a substitute for the disc nucleus pulposus, such as hyaluronic acid, fibrin glue, alginate, elastin-like polypeptides, collagen type I gel and others. A number of patents have issued concerning various injectable biomaterials including: cross-linkable silk elastin copolymer discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,333 (Stedronsky et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,154 (Capello et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,355,776 (Ferrari et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,872 (Stedronsky et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,348 (Ferrari et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,072 (Ferrari et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,654 (Stedronsky et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,030 (Ferrari et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,474 (Stedronsky); U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,713 (Ferrari et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,303 (Stedronsky et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,012 (Donofrio et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,577 (Capello); U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,249 (Capello et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,697 (Ferrari et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,004 (Stedronsky); U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,588 (Donofrio); U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,648 (Ferrari); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,041 (Capello et al.); protein hydrogel described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,524 (Morse et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,971 (Morse et al.): U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,328 (Morse et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,215; polyurethane-filled balloons discussed in No. 60/004,710 (Felt et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,177 (Felt et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,131 (Felt et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,630 (Bao et al.); collagen-PEG set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,978 (Olsen et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,742 (Olsen et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,278 (Rhee et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,312,725 (Wallace et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,394 (Sierra); U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,130 (Rhee et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,489 (Berg et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,687 (Simonyi et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,165 (Berg); U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,484 (Sierra); U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,309 (Prior et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,648 (Rhee et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,811 (Esposito et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,648 (Berg); U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,035 (Rhee et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,500 (Rhee et al.); chitosan in U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,488 to Chenite et al.; a variety of polymers discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,048 (Milner et al.; recombinant biomaterials in No. 60/038,150 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,782 (Daniell et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,430 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,962 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,055 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,523 (Urry et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,523 (Urry et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,882 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,700 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,851 (Urry); U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,852 (Urry et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,746 (Urry et al.); and annulus repair materials described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,576 to Haldimann.
These references disclose biomaterials or injectable scaffolds that have one or more properties that are important to disc replacement, including strong mechanical strength, promotion of tissue formation, biodegradability, biocompatibility, sterilizability, minimal curing or setting time, optimum curing temperature, and low viscosity for easy introduction into the disc space. The scaffold must exhibit the necessary mechanical properties as well as provide physical support. It is also important that the scaffold be able to withstand the large number of loading cycles experienced by the spine. The biocompatibility of the material is of utmost importance. Neither the initial material nor any of its degradation products should elicit an unresolved immune or toxicological response, demonstrate immunogenicity, or express cytoxicity.
Generally, the above-mentioned biomaterials are injected as viscous fluids and then cured in situ. Curing methods include thermosensitive cross-linking, photopolymerization, or the addition of a solidifying or cross-linking agent. The setting time of the material is important—it should be long enough to allow for accurate placement of the biomaterial during the procedure yet should be short enough so as not to prolong the length of the surgical procedure. If the material experiences a temperature change while hardening, the increase in temperature should be small and the heat generated should not damage the surrounding tissue. The viscosity or fluidity of the material should balance the need for the substance to remain at the site of its introduction into the disc, with the ability of the surgeon to manipulate its placement, and with the need to assure complete filling of the intradiscal space or voids.
Regardless of the injectable scaffold material used, it is critical that the completed procedure restore the disc height. It is thus important that the proper disc height be maintained while the biomaterial is being introduced into the intradiscal space. Ideally, the disc height will be restored to levels equivalent to the heights of the adjacent discs and representative of a normal spinal disc height for the particular patient.
However, if disc height is not re-established prior to introduction of the scaffold material, it will become impossible to replace the lost disc volume and at least restore the disc height to what it was prior to the discectomy. Failure to hold a proper disc height as the biomaterial is introduced and cured in situ can eventually lead to a collapse of the disc space. This phenomenon is illustrated by a comparison of a proper intervertebral disc height in FIG. 1a versus a reduced disc height in FIG. 1b. The reduced disc height of FIG. 1b will ordinarily follow a substantially complete discectomy, unless the adjacent vertebrae are distracted. The patient can be placed in certain positions that tend to open the disc space, particularly at the posterior side of the disc D. However, it has been found that even with hyper-flexion of the spine the intervertebral space does not approach its proper volume, and consequently the intervertebral height does not approach the proper disc height of FIG. 1a. 
Prior procedures for the implantation of a curable disc prosthesis have relied upon the physical positioning of the patient or upon pressurized injection of the biomaterial to obtain some degree of distraction. However, these prior approaches do not achieve repeatable restoration of proper anatomical disc height, either during the surgical procedure or afterwards. Consequently, there remains a need for a method and system that provides a high degree of assurance that a proper disc height will be established and maintained when the intervertebral disc is replaced or augmented by an injectable biomaterial.